Lent VIII: Anger

The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone . . . 

 - From Matthew 21

The familiar Parable of the Landowner is about a recurring theme in Scripture - the lunacy and evil of mob behaviors.

If Jesus ever got a crowd around Him, His demeanor was such that it calmed them down (except for the angry mobs that had Him killed). He did not incite to violence. He didn't sit there with envious rage, motivating crowds into a frenzied rage.

Christ was not envious. He couldn't care less about wealth. He knew that faith alone would keep us fed, and housed, and clothed, and safe. And He was right.

The Landowner in the parable hires these tenants to work his fields. They receive everything they need in return. But when servants are sent to collect the produce of the tenants work, they worked themselves up in resentment, since they had done "all the work," and by rights should be the ones to sell the produce and make a profit. As is the nature of mobs, the violent impulse took over, and they tortured and killed every one sent by the landowner, including his own son.

Lent is a private matter, it's personal. And so is the faith walk. We do not engage in mobs that can be swayed one way or the other, by silver-tongued orators. We go into our rooms, in private. We close the door and pray. We fast, but in such a way that it does not draw attention to ourselves.

Lent is about patience, and individuality, and independence. And an army of people acting accordingly, has twice the strength of an emotional mob, of equal numbers.